


Someone You Loved

by IGNiPOTENS72



Category: NoPixel
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Car Accidents, Depression, M/M, Nopixel logic, Panic Attacks, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-23 19:24:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19157398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IGNiPOTENS72/pseuds/IGNiPOTENS72
Summary: After a warrant goes out for Vasily's arrest, Kevin makes a decision to cut ties with his criminal boyfriend. Problem is, he's having trouble coming to terms with the consequences of his decision.





	Someone You Loved

Vasily winced as the door slammed in the other room. Kevin was rarely angry when he got home from work, so Vasily was understandably concerned. He suddenly felt fear grip his chest. What if someone told him about what happened there other night? Vasily schooled his features and waited, hoping that it was something else that set Shaw off.

"Robbery, kidnapping, possession of a class 2 firearm, and attempted second degree on a peace officer,” Kevin roared as he stormed into the room. “Are you fucking kidding me, Vasily? What the hell has gotten into you?” 

“I was bored?” Vasily offered, feigning confidence he didn’t feel. He paled at the glare Kevin shot him, and his insides ran cold. 

“You were bored? Jesus Vasily. Do you know how long they’ll put you away for when they catch you?” 

“Don’t you mean ‘if’ they catch me?” Vasily smirked cheekily. “Come on, Shaw, you’re the best lawyer in the city. If anyone can get me off, it’s you. And I don’t just mean in bed. Come on, Mr. Shaw. Let me help you relax, yeah?” Vasily laid back on the bed, palming himself through his jeans. 

“No,” Shaw said resolutely, despite staring at Vasily’s hand. “I can’t….no I won’t keep facilitating this. You can’t just do whatever you want. Eventually, the law will catch up to you and when it does, I won’t be there to help,” he huffed, though it was clear from his crestfallen face that it hurt to admit. “I think you should leave,” he added after a beat of silence. 

“What?” Vasily asked, the icy feeling from before gripping tighter. “You don’t mean that,” he attempted, swallowing thickly around the knot forming in his throat. “You wouldn’t let me go to jail. You know what they’d do to me in there.”

Vasily sat up, crawling towards the end of the bed and knelt in front of Kevin. He reached up to thread his fingers through his hair, letting out a surprised yelp when Kevin slapped his hand away. He looked up at him like a lost child, hurt and betrayal swimming in his eyes. “Get out of my house,” Kevin said quietly, eyes closed in an attempt to hide his own anguish. 

“But I live here...where will I go?” Vasily asked, voice breaking as he started to realize that Shaw was actually serious. 

“I don’t care. I just need you out of my sight.” Kevin turned away from Vasily and moved towards the bedroom door. 

“But I --” 

“Get out!” Kevin roared. “Or I’ll call the police myself.” 

Vasily blinked at the back of Kevin’s head, angry tears welling in his eyes. He sniffed back a sob as he stood up. He straightened his jacket, frown set in place and stalked out of the room. “Fuck you,Shaw,” he spat out, roughly bumping shoulders with Kevin as he moved past him and out of the apartment. 

Once outside, Vasily pressed his back to the door, trying to stifle the broken sobs threatening to escape. He slid down the door to curl in on himself, unable to hold back his tears any longer. He sat with his back pressed to the door, crying until he was left with nothing but emptiness in his chest. I don't need him anyway, he thought bitterly. He wiped his tears away with his gloved hand before moving downstairs to get on his motorcycle and sped off down the street. 

Inside the apartment, Kevin had deflated on the bed, shaking with his own grief and frustrations. He contemplated calling V, to say that he hadn’t meant any of it, and he just wanted him to come back so they could talk it out. He growled at his own stupidity and whipped his phone at the wall and watched it shatter into several pieces. 

______________

Wind whipped his jacket around as Vasily sped down the Great Ocean Highway at 120mph. Cop sirens rang in the distance, but he didn’t care. His bike was faster, and his pockets were stashed with enough cash to buy whatever the hell he wanted. He laughed as he weaved in and out of cars and watched as one trooper crashed into a semi-truck that turned at the last minute. He looked over his shoulder with a wide grin on his face, and turned to look back at the road just in time to see a car swerve in front of him. Time slowed as he slammed on the breaks, but the car cut sideways in front of him, and he hit the side launching off the bike. 

He flew through the air, turning awkwardly to watch the world tumble around him. He hit the ground several yards away from the initial crash, body ragdolling as he skipped across the asphalt and finally skidding to a halt. Vasily's world was agony and his head swam from the impact.

He'd felt his helmet take the brunt of the impact, exploding around his head while the visor’s plexiglass shattered and shredded his cheeks as it flew away from his body. Pain spiked up from his wrist, and he knew without looking that it was broken. Blood started to ooze from his wounds, and he felt a wave of nausea hit him.

Around him, he was vaguely aware of the red and blue lights surrounding him, groaning as pressure was suddenly applied to his abdomen. He hadn’t even realized anything was wrong, and cried out in pain, tears leaking down his face and mixing with the blood slowly oozing from his head.

“Dispatch we have a suspect who 10-50’d and needs EMS off Great Ocean Highway just south of Paleto Bay” the trooper shouted into her comms. 

“Come on, kid. Stay with me, okay? EMS is on the way,” she said comfortingly. “What’s your name?” 

“I need Kevin Shaw,” Vasily choked out. “I need my attorney.” 

“We can talk about that after you’re treated okay?” she said, looking over at the traffic that was starting to pile up around the wreckage. “I have to leave for a second, okay, but I’ll be right back. Can you put pressure on your abdomen?” she asked, letting up on the wound and pressing Vasily’s hands to it. 

He bit back a sob as a new wave of pain hit him, and felt a spike of anxiety grip his chest at the amount of blood he felt. “Am I going to die?” he whimpered. 

“Not on my watch,” she comforted, gently squeezing his shoulder. “I’ll be right back, okay?” And then she was gone. 

Vasily felt like hours had passed; his concussion making him feel floaty and dazed. The trooper was soon back at his side putting pressure on his wounds. “EMS is 10 minutes away,” she reassured."Do you have any family or friends I can call?"

"Just Kevin," Vasily groaned deliriously.

The next several minutes were spent in silence, and Vasily was starting to feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness. When he woke up next, he was already in the ambulance with an IV line in his arm and a c-collar around his neck. He made to move his arm to pull the IV out in his confusion, but his arm was cuffed to the gurney. “Wha’?” he slurred, looking blearily around the ambulance. 

“You’re awake,” the paramedic stated, sounding relieved. He looked at him briefly before turning back to the monitoring equipment that was beeping steadily next to him. “You were in a car accident,” he explained. “You have a broken wrist, possible broken ribs, several lacerations and contusions, and a concussion. I packed your wounds with gauze to stem the bleeding, and hooked up an IV with some saline to help replace the blood you’ve lost. I also gave you an injection of morphine to take the edge off the pain,” he explained, but it all went over Vasily’s head as he slipped back into unconsciousness. 

When he finally came to, he was laying in the general hospital ward. He blinked up at the ceiling, brain still dazed from the accident before looking sideways at the monitor next to him. He didn’t know what any of the numbers meant, but nothing was beeping loudly other than the steady pulse of his ECG, so he assumed everything was okay. He looked down at his arm, now in a cast and tried to move it. He hissed sharply as pain shot through his arm, and pressed his head into the pillow. He looked down at his left arm, following the line of the IV from the stand near his bed, but the glint of metal around his wrist caught his eye. Fuck. 

“Were you still looking for legal counsel, Mr. Sazkaljovich?” the trooper from before asked, startling Vasily.

“Иисус!” he shouted in alarm, abruptly pulling his uninjured arm to his chest, but the handcuff pulled sharply at his wrist causing him to hiss in pain. “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough,” she shrugged. “My name is Trooper Copper, and at this time you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand your rights?” 

“Why am I being arrested, officer?” Vasily asked, hoping that feigning ignorance would work in his favor. 

“Trooper,” she corrected. “There’s currently a warrant out for your arrest”

“A warrant? For what?" Vasily asked, the memories from several weeks ago hitting him. His blood ran cold and his pulse spiked as he remembered the last time him and Kevin talked. 

Copper looked up at his monitor as it spiked before returning her gaze to him. "Well there's robbery, possession of a class two, attempted 2nd degree and kidnapping. Then we have you for a second count of robbery, possession of a class two, reckless evading, and disobeying a peace officer," she listed off from the notepad in her hands.

"I think I'll be needing that lawyer, then," Vasily admitted, sighing heavily and closing his eyes after Copper nodded and left him to call Shaw. 

Vasily knew he wasn't going to be able to talk himself out of this situation, and knew that even if Kevin came, he would still be going to jail. They could argue the initial charges since Vasily had been in disguise, but he'd been dumb enough to take his own motorbike and they must have run his plates. 

A male in blue scrubs and a stethoscope around his neck approached Vasily’s bed, breaking his train of thought. He looked over at him and smiled once he recognized him. 

“Dr. Ducksworth how are you?” 

“I’m well, but disappointed to see you here again,” he admitted as he looked over Vasily’s chart. “How’re you feeling?” 

“Like I can walk out of here,” Vasily grinned cheekily. “But they’ve got me chained to the bed. Do you think you can help me out with that?” 

“You and I both know I can’t do that,” Ducksworth said solemnly. 

Vasily pouted, but knew he at least had to try. “So were you my doctor?” 

“Yes...I was the one who had to put you back together. It was a close call in there, if I’m honest. We had to give you a shot of epinephrine because your heart stopped, but otherwise everything went well. There was a lot of internal bleeding from the accident, but thankfully we were able to stop it and get you a blood transfusion. You've obviously got a broken wrist," he said pointing out the cast. "And a broken rib and several bruised ones. Thankfully you were wearing a helmet though, otherwise we likely wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

Vasily tried to take in all the information, realizing now that he had bandaging wrapped tightly around his chest as well. However, the fact that he'd died on the table, albeit briefly, had him choking back tears causing his chest to hurt more than it already did.

"But you're here now," Ducksworth assured, squeezing his shoulder comfortably. "Just focus on healing, okay? Don't worry about the rest." He moved off to see other patients, leaving Vasily to his thoughts again.

Five minutes later, Copper returned with a frown set deep in her brows. "He declined to take your case," she said simply, but there was a hint of sadness or maybe pity to her voice. "And unfortunately there's no other available lawyers at this time. I was also informed by your doctor that you'll need to stay for a couple days until you're stable enough for transfer. Is there any other lawyers you'd want to work with?"

"Just Shaw," he answered, closing his eyes to avoid showing the cop any more weakness. "What am I looking at?"

"310 months and a $15,000 fine."

Shit "Any chance for some time off?" 

"We can talk about it more once you're at PD. Just get some rest and I'll be in touch," she said softly, offering him a sad smile. "I'm sorry about Shaw," she added as she turned to leave.

"Me too," he muttered more to himself than to anyone else.

_____________

Vasily's time spent in the hospital was lonely, and he was only partially thankful when he was discharged. Copper came to pick him up, easing him into the squad car before they made the drive to Mission Row. He stared blankly out of the window at the cars passing by, too lost in his own thoughts to really enjoy the view one last time.

His thoughts were a jumbled mess, but they always went back to Shaw. The way he smiled when he saw Vasily after a long day at work. The look on his face when he thought Vasily hadn't noticed him staring. The way his fingers gently traced his tattoo in the calm afterglow of sex, murmuring how much he loved Vasily into his skin. The way he told Vasily to leave and that he wouldn't help him even if he needed it. How not even once did he hear from Shaw while he was in the hospital. How he could've died. How he basically did and Shaw didn't even care. 

"Watch your head," Copper said, cutting through Vasily's thoughts and bringing him back to the present.

He cooperated with her, thankful that she allowed him to walk into PD of his own volition, and waited patiently for her to unlock the jail cell before going inside. He turned his back to her to allow her to remove the cuffs before moving to sit on the cot in the other side of the cell.

"I'll be right back, Mr. Sazkaljovich," she announced, and then she was gone.

Vasily contemplated asking her to call Shaw one more time, to see if he'd changed his mind, but pushed the thought away. He doesn't care anyway.

"Are you certain you don't want any other lawyer? Or I can try calling Shaw again," Cooper said as she returned. 

"He's the only one I trust, but clearly he doesn't want anything to do with me, so no. No lawyers." Vasily said dejectedly.

Copper frowned, sighing heavily before pulling out a notepad and pen. "So right now we have two counts of robbery, two counts of possession of a class two firearm, one count of kidnapping, one count of attempted second degree murder on a peace officer, one count of reckless evading, and one count of disobeying a peace officer with a fine if $15000 and a sentence of 310 months. I can drop one of the charges of robbery to burglary since we don't have any physical evidence that you stole something, just reasonable suspicion, however the second count of robbery is going to stick because you had possession of stolen goods on your person. As for the other charges, I can drop the reckless evading to just evading and drop the disobeying a peace officer. That would bring you 280 months and a $12,500 fine.”

Vasily hung his head, trying to wrap his head around how long he be in jail for. It was over double his current age, and he was embarrassed to admit it, but his breath stuttered as he tried to hold back his tears at the thought of being locked up for that long. 

“Look,” Copper said quietly, “I can decrease the sentence to 200 months. It’s not much, but given everything you’ve gone through in the last couple days it’s the least I can do.” 

Vasily was still too wrapped up in his own thoughts to really process much at this point and nodded absently at her deal.

__________

It’d been at least three months since the fight, and Shaw was a wreck. He’d even gone so far as to drive up to the hospital the night of the accident, sitting in his car contemplating the logistics of getting Vasily out of there without the police noticing or following him. He wasn’t a criminal, and he’d always stood firm to that belief. How could he aid those under his charge if he too were involved in criminal activities? However, when he arrived at Vasily’s bedside to see how broken and fragile he’d looked, he couldn’t bear to take him away from the caring hands of the doctors and nurses at Pillbox. Even if it hurt him to admit it, V was safer there. 

He’d waited by his phone the next couple days afterwards, waiting for another call from Copper to ask him to come down to represent V, but it never came. His chest tightened in grief and just hoped that maybe the stubborn Russian would’ve at least asked another lawyer to represent him. The call he’d been expecting came much later in the evening, and he nearly broke down on the phone when talking to Copper. 

“He said that?” Shaw asked softly, feeling as though he’d been plunged in freezing cold water. 

“Said he didn’t trust anyone else.” 

“He’s an idiot. A fucking idiot,” Shaw cursed, pacing the too-empty apartment. “Any chance for appeal?” 

“Only if he wants it,” Copper sighed. “You fucked up, Shaw. He’s just a kid.” 

“I know! Okay….I fucking know. Just….I need time to figure this out. I’ll talk to you later.” 

But he couldn’t do it. Everytime he tried thinking about Vasily, stuck in jail because both of them had been too proud to admit they were wrong, his resolve would break. He plunged himself into work; the only thing he could think of to distract himself from the hole in his chest. He was doing fine, managing well enough. That was until Dab got arrested and sentenced to life in maximum security. Even Dab hadn’t asked for his representation. 

And for the first time in a years, Shaw found himself sprawled on his bed with a half empty bottle of expensive vodka he’d found stashed under the bed. He was so deliriously drunk he hadn't registered his phone ringing until it had gone to voicemail. He looked at the phone in his hand, blinking slowly at it to refocus his eyes and saw a new voicemail pop-up in his notifications. He swiped down to pull up the notification and hit play. 

“Guess you got what you wanted, huh?" Vasily's voice sounded distant and cold. "If you wanted to get me locked up, you could've just called the cops that night. Sure would've saved me a lot of pain. Did you know I'll be 35 by the time I'm out of here? I think about that a lot you know. Hell, I never even thought I'd make it past 25, but I guess that's one way of keeping me alive. Who knows maybe I still won’t make it to 25. Not that you'd care. Whatever, I hope you're happy at least." 

Kevin knew that Vasily meant the last statement as an insult, but it just made his chest ache instead because he wasn't happy. Couldn't be happy knowing it was because of his failures as a boyfriend and his lawyer that V was even there in the first place. He downed the rest of the bottle, half hoping he wouldn't wake it the morning.

Kevin had received several calls over the next couple weeks from Vasily. Some telling him about his day, while others were filled with resentment towards Shaw and PD for being in this situation.

Kevin was only slightly grateful when the calls stopped, half hoping Vasily had given up when he received another voicemail. He was in the middle of a court case when the call came in, and he didn't get a chance to listen to it until several hours later.

“Got into my first major fight today. Some guy tried to jump me in the showers, but don’t worry he won’t be trying anything anymore. They’re going to lock me in solitary, so you probably won’t hear from me for a while. I don’t even know if you’re listening to my voicemails, but I guess it doesn’t matter anyway.”

Kevin felt a swell of rage fill him at the idea that someone would try to harm Vasily, but had to remind himself that that was prison. Everyone had to establish dominance. He just hoped Vasily would be okay at the end of an this.

Three months later, a call came through just as he was finishing up with a client at the courthouse. Kevin pulled up the notification and pressed the phone to his ear. Immediately, he choked out a sob, nearly dropping his phone as his knees gave out, and he sank to the floor against the marbled walls of the courthouse.

"I can't go back." Vasily was openly sobbing, voice echoing in the small empty room he was in. "Please, Kevin. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for everything. I just…" he sniffed hard, letting out a shuttered breath as though to compose himself. "I can't sleep. I can't eat. I'm wasting away in here, and if I don't get out… I'm not going to make it." Vasily hiccoughed as a high pitched whine tore from his chest. He cried heartbrokenly into his phone, muffled by the way he was hunched over himself, until the voicemail timed out and the call ended

Kevin sat against the wall for a long while, tears turning into blank stares as he disassociated through his thoughts. He was startled by Nora who looked at him questioningly before suggesting he go home for the day.

Kevin had been on autopilot as he drove, intent on going home to drink his thoughts into submission, but found himself instead pulling into Bolingbrook's parking lot. He stared at the building for longer than he wanted to admit, trying to pluck up the courage to go inside and see V, to hold him and tell him he was sorry. To tell him that he would fix this and there was hope, please just hang on. 

_____________

Kevin's days and nights were starting to bleed together. He'd go to work, attempt to drive home, but always found himself paralyzed in his car outside Bolingbrook. He'd stay there until his body was numb and then he'd drive home and get drunk just so he could sleep. Things were getting so bad that even his colleagues had started to notice. But the most worrisome part was that V's calls weren't coming anymore. He'd made a commitment to himself that the next time Vasily called, he'd answer, but the calls never came.

"Kevin Shaw, Attorney at Law," Kevin said automatically, but his usual vigor wasn't there.

"Kevin, I need you to sit down."

"What do you mean? What's going on? Are you okay, Olivia?" 

"There was a riot at Bolingbrook today…. There were a bunch of prisoners in the courtyard…. We had to tear gas them, but a few of the guards unloaded into some of the prisoners."

Kevin paled and he felt his whole world shatter. He collapsed onto the ground with a quiet huff, barely masking the broken "Vasily," that escaped his lips.

"He's alive, but he's in critical condition. Dr. Isaacs was down there earlier to help treat the wounded, so he was in good hands."

Kevin was having trouble processing Copper's words, the images of Vasily on the hospital bed after the bike accident played vividly in his head, though this time Vasily was paler and barely breathing. 

"Kevin," Cooper said loudly, startling him from his thoughts. "You need to man up and go down there. You're just punishing yourself and you're not doing either of yourselves a favor. Do something before anything else happens and you have to live with your regret."

"I can't," Kevin murmured. "Everytime I try, I remember how he thinks I hate him and threw him away to rot in jail."

"He's angry, Shaw, and scared. Prove him wrong and show him how you really feel. Please. It's killing me seeing you like this."

Kevin sat on the phone with her a while longer, both sitting in silence. He finally sighed, encouraged by her words and thanked her before hanging up.

_________

Kevin once again found himself outside Bolingbrook, but this time he found the courage to turn off the engine and enter the building. He stopped at the front office, showing his credentials, and requested to see Vasily. When he received pushback from the officer, Shaw promptly dismissed him claiming that as Vasily's lawyer he had a right and duty to see his client.

He was eventually lead back into the infirmary and left alone with Vasily. Kevin pulled up a chair next to the hospital bed, picking up Vasily's hand and holding it gently as the younger male slept. 

At some point, Kevin had fallen asleep, but woke up immediately when he felt Vasily's hand twitch in his. He looked over Vasily's face, watched him slowly wake up and take the room in. He winced in pain, roaming his hand over his chest and shoulder where large bandages had been placed. He then noticed that someone was next to him and looked up to find Kevin sitting there with tears in his eyes.

"Am I dreaming?" he slurred, still delirious from anesthesia.

"No, I'm really here," Kevin comforted, blinking back his tears. "I'm so sorry, V. I--" he didn't even know where to begin. "I'm a coward and a failure. I let you down when you needed me most and couldn't put aside my fear when you needed my help."

Vasily was still waking up, and his brain was slow to process what was happening. He remembered the riot, and how he tired to stay out of the middle of it, but he'd been thrown into a guard by a rival prisoner and another guard had gunned him down. He slowly processed what Shaw said, and his chest started ached. "You're really here?" he choked out. 

Shaw nodded, scooting closer to the bed as he lifted Vasily's hand to his lips, and gently kissed his knuckles. His own eyes watering at the relief in Vasily's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Vasily. I should never have let you walk out that door."

Vasily closed his eyes, biting his lip in a grimace as he tried to hold back his tears. For almost a year he'd felt abandoned and alone. He'd been reaching his limit for weeks now and was biding his time in the hopes that maybe something good would happen, or a connection came through to help him out of his hell. His whole body started to shake as he couldn't hold back the tears anymore. He felt the bed dip under an all too familiar weight, and he started openly sobbing.

Kevin was barely able to brace himself before Vasily's arms wrapped tightly around him in a vice grip. His shirt was soaked within seconds and it was all he could do to not succumb to his own grief. He buried his face into the crook of Vasily's shoulder, inhaling his scent and letting it calm himself. "I've got you," he murmured into Vasily's skin. "I won't let anything else happen to you."

They laid in the hospital bed together, clinging to each other as they cried. Vasily had stopped a while ago, and was nearly passing out with Kevin gently running his fingers through his hair. "*I was there that first night you were in the hospital," Kevin murmured softly. "I wanted to sweep you up in my arms and hide you away forever."

"Why didn't you?" Vasily asked sleepily.

"I ran into Ducksworth while I was there. Said you almost died on the table, and I knew if something like that happened when you were with me there would be nothing I could do to save you. You were safer with them, even if it killed me to admit it."

"But why did it take so long for you to come?" Vasily asked, turning his head to look at Shaw with hurt in his eyes.

"I thought you hated me. Or at least that you didn't think I cared about you. I was hurt and scared. I've never felt this way about anyone, V. I mean that, literally nobody. And I was scared about what would happen if people found out I was dating a criminal, what it could do to my job. So I panicked and tried to distance myself from the situation, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. And then there were the voicemails, and it killed me to hear you like that. I stopped eating. I couldn't sleep. The only way I could was after half a bottle of vodka--"

"Stop," Vasily scolded, sitting up suddenly and glaring at Kevin. "You're just doing this to punish yourself. I fucked up too. I could've asked for help again when I was detained, but I didn't. That's on me."

Shaw pulled Vasily back down and pressed his lips to his forehead. "I don't know if I can forgive myself," he admitted sadly. 

"Help me get out of here, then," Vasily insisted. "I don't know how any of this works, but I know you can fix this. You're the only one I trust. We'll figure the rest out later."

Kevin moved to make room for Vasily against his chest and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Vasily practically molded against Kevin's side, placing his hand over his heart just to feel his steady heartbeat, to remind himself that he was really there and it wasn't a dream. 

"I can't stay much longer," Kevin admitted sadly, burying his face into Vasily's hair. "But tomorrow I'll be back first thing and we'll start on your case," Kevin promised softly. 

Vasily shook his head, gripping tighter. "Don't leave," he whimpered. 

Kevin frowned, pulling Vasily into a soft kiss. He felt Vasily shake under him, quiet whimpers escaping his lips as his own chest swelled with emotion. He threaded his fingers into Vasily’s hair as the younger male climbed on top of him, desperately clinging to Kevin. 

"I can't stay, V,” Shaw whispered into the small space between them. “You need to rest and heal up," Kevin murmured, pressing his lips to Vasily's again. "I'm not going to abandon you again, I promise. I love you.” 

Vasily whimpered again, tears streaming slowly down his face. He closed his eyes, nodding. “I love you, too.” 

Kevin eased Vasily back until he was laying on top of him, threading his fingers through his hair while the other traced absent-minded patterns across his naked back. “I’ll stay until you fall asleep,” Kevin offered quietly. 

“Promise?” Vasily whispered. 

“Promise.” 

Vasily took a while to relax, but eventually his breaths evened out, and he started snoring softly. Kevin eased out from under Vasily's weight and pulled the blanket back over him. He took off his jacket and draped it over Vasily's shoulders, smiling when Vasily pulled it around him and sighed contently. Kevin leaned down, kissing Vasily tenderly before quietly exiting the infirmary. 

He pulled out his phone once inside his car, waiting for the Bluetooth to connect before calling. 

"Good evening. This is Kevin Shaw and I'm calling on behalf of my client, Vasily Sazkaljovich. It's my understanding that Trooper Olivia Copper was the arresting officer for his case several months ago? Perfect! I'd like to arrange a meeting with her tomorrow to discuss appealing the case your department had against my client."

Kevin spent several minutes on the phone discussing the logistics of the meeting and making arrangements before hanging up. He stared back at the prison, knowing that it hurt to leave Vasily there, but he wasn't alone anymore. Kevin felt a weight lift off his shoulders and the knot in his chest ease just enough to allow him to breathe for the first time in almost a year.

When he finally got home, he got ready for bed as usual, but just before he passed out he pulled up Vasily's number, pressing the phone to his ear as he waited for it to go to voicemail.

"Hey babe, I just wanted to call to say that I love you. I hope you're feeling better when you wake up. I've got a meeting set up with Copper tomorrow to discuss your appeals, but I'm going to try to get you released into my custody on the grounds that it's unsafe for you to be there during the appeals process. I know it won't make up for everything you had to go through, but I hope it's a start. I also left you something in the inside pocket of my jacket, if you'll accept. Anyway, I'll see you in the morning. I love you.”


End file.
